Don\u2019t worry. They won\u2019t do it again!<\/em><\/p>\nI love it.\u00a0\u00a0 But having young kids, I increasingly appreciate the need for routines and rituals (in the sense of repetitious action).<\/p>\n
So here is our ritual outline.\u00a0 Since I was not blogging last year, this is the first time this has been posted:<\/p>\n
Winter Solstice Celebration<\/strong><\/p>\nPrelude: \u201cSolstice Prayer\u201d chant by Thorn Coyle<\/strong><\/p>\nWe wait in the dark for the light to appear,<\/em>
\n Mother, give birth to our brother the Sun.<\/em>
\n We wait in the dark for the light to appear,<\/em>
\n Mother, give birth to our brother the Sun!<\/em>
\n We wait. We watch.<\/em>
\n Out of the cold comes the promise of newness.<\/em>
\n We wait. We watch.<\/em>
\n Out of the cold comes the promise of day!<\/em><\/p>\nIntroduction<\/strong><\/p>\nI enter dressed as the Holly King and narrate the following:<\/p>\n
I am the Holly King, King of Winter, the dark time of the year, Lord of the Underworld.\u00a0 I am the dark twin of my brother, the Oak King, the King of the Summerlands, the Lord of Light.\u00a0 I am the wolf and he is the stag.\u00a0 I am the dark to his light.<\/em><\/p>\nI have come to teach you about the Wheel of the Year.\u00a0 The Wheel of the Year has eight special days, spread evenly apart.<\/p>\n
The winter solstice is the longest night of the year.\u00a0 Pagans today call this time by its ancient Anglo-Saxon name, Yule.\u00a0 Yule is the night when I am the strongest.\u00a0 But it is also the time when I slowly begin to grow weak again, as the Sun slowly returns from land of darkness.\u00a0 This is night that the Child of Promise is born from the dark womb of the Goddess.\u00a0 The Child of Promise is the new sun, which is small and weak at this time of the year, but will grow stronger and stronger until he defeats me in the springtime.\u00a0 This is a time for celebrating new beginnings.<\/p>\n
Christmas is also celebrated at this time of the year by Christians.\u00a0 It is when they celebrate the birth of Jesus.\u00a0 We have learned from scholars that Jesus was actually born in the Springtime.\u00a0 But around the year 350 AD, the Christian church changed the date to be on the same date as the pagan celebration, Dies Natali Solis Invicti, which means the birthday of the conquering sun, which was celebrated at the winter solstice.\u00a0 Pagans believe that Jesus was an example of the Child of Promise, who was born at the winter solstice and grows up to defeat the powers of darkness, but is later killed and reborn.\u00a0 Pagans believe that this happened not just one time long ago, but happens every year, in nature.\u00a0 It also can happen many times within us, in our souls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter Solstice Chant\u201d by Phillip Palmer (UU Hymn 1063)<\/strong><\/p>\nChild \u2013 ren of the Earth, _____<\/em>
\n we have come to sing to each oth \u2013 er,<\/em>
\n Sist \u2013 er to Broth \u2013 er,<\/em>
\n songs of our Moth \u2013 er Earth.<\/em><\/p>\nChildren of the Earth _____<\/em>
\n Autumn soon will breathe her last breath and<\/em>
\n quick will hear death bear<\/em>
\n witness to Winter\u2019s Birth.<\/em><\/p>\nChildren of the Earth _____<\/em>
\n can you feel the air getting cold as<\/em>
\n darkness takes hold and<\/em>
\n sleep covers Mother Earth?<\/em><\/p>\nChildren of the Earth _____<\/em>
\n we have come to sit in the dakrness,<\/em>
\n breathe in the silence,<\/em>
\n think of our Mother Earth.<\/em><\/p>\nStory: \u201cThe Rebirth of the Sun\u201d by Starhawk (narrated by my wife)<\/strong><\/p>\nCircle round, and I\u2019ll tell you a story about when the sun was born again \u2026<\/em>
\n It was the middle of winter, and the sun had grown very old.<\/em>
\n All year long the sun had worked very hard, rising and setting day after day. All year long the sun had fed everybody on earth, shining and shining, giving energy to the trees and the flowers and the grasses so they could grow and feed the animals and birds and insects and people.<\/em>
\n All year the sun\u2019s gravity held tight to the spinning ball of the earth and the twirling ball of the moon and the eight other whirling planets as they traveled around and around and around, until the poor sun was dizzy watching it all.<\/em>
\n Now the poor tired sun could barely make it up in the morning, and after a very short time, needed to sleep again. So the days grew shorter, and the nights grew longer, until the day was so short it was hardly worth getting up for.<\/em>
\n Mother Night felt sorry for the sun.<\/em><\/p>\n[My daughter reads:] \u201cCome to my arms and rest, child.\u00a0 After all, I am your mother. You were born out of my darkness, billions of years ago, and you will return to me when all things end. Let me cradle you now, as I shelter every galaxy and star in the universe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nSo Mother Night wrapped her great arms around the sun, and the night was very long indeed.<\/em>
\n \u201cWhy does the dark go on so long?\u201d asked children all over the earth. \u201cWon\u2019t the sun ever come back again?\u201d<\/em>
\n \u201cThe sun is very tired,\u201d the old ones said. \u201cBut maybe, if you children say thank you for all the things the sun does for us, the light may return in the morning.\u201d<\/em>
\n The children sang songs to the sun. They thought about all the things the sun gave them.<\/em><\/p>\n[My wife asks the kids what they think the children might have thanked the sun for, then resumes the story.]<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThank you for growing the lettuces and the corn and the rice and the wheat,\u201d they said. \u201cThank you for growing the trees of the forests and the seaweed in the oceans and the krill that feeds the whales. Thank you for stirring the air and making winds that bring the rain.\u201d<\/em>
\n Every time a child said thank you, the sun began to feel a little warmer, a little brighter. Wrapped safely in the arms of Night, the sun grew younger and younger.<\/em>
\n At last the children had to go to bed. \u201cWe will stay up and wait for the sun to rise again\u201d the old ones said.<\/em>
\n \u201cCan\u2019t we stay up, too?\u201d the children asked.<\/em>
\n \u201cYou can try, but you will get too sleepy,\u201d the old ones said. \u201cBut you can each light a candle, because all fire is a spark of the sun\u2019s fire. Put your candle in a very safe place, and let it keep vigil for you as you sleep and dream of sunrise.\u201d<\/em>
\n So the children lit their candles and put them in very safe places, and each flame was a little spark of the sun\u2019s fire.<\/em><\/p>\n[My wife lights a candle.]<\/em><\/p>\nAnd the sun peeped out from between the arms of Night, and saw all the little fires, and began to feel warmer and brighter and younger still.<\/em>
\n Early in the morning, the old ones woke the children. Together they climbed a high hill and faced to the east, the direction of sunrise. They sang songs to the sun and ran around trying to keep warm. They waited and waited to see what dawn would bring.<\/em>
\n The sky began to turn from black to indigo to blue. Slowly the sky grew light. A golden glow crept over the horizon. Night opened her great arms, and in a burst of brightness, the sun appeared, new and strong and shining.<\/em>
\n For in the long night the sun had rested well and grown young from the songs and the thanks of the children, young as a brand-new baby, born out of Night once more.<\/em>
\n Everybody cheered, and the children jumped up and down.<\/em>
\n \u201cThe sun has returned! The sun is reborn!\u201d the people cried. And they danced and sang to celebrate the birth of a new day, and then went home to breakfast.<\/em><\/p>\nChant of Mother Night and the Sun Child (by my daughter and son who are dressed for the parts)<\/strong><\/p>\nMother Night:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Come to me body of grain<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Come to me soul of the light<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Come to me and rest your head<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I will give to you new life<\/em><\/p>\nSun Child:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Into the depths of the well<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beyond the shadows of time<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I surrender my sorrows<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I am reborn into the light<\/em><\/p>\nMother Night:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Come to me body of grain<\/em><\/p>\nSun Child:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Into the depths of the well<\/em><\/p>\nMother Night:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Come to me soul of the light<\/em><\/p>\nSun Child:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Beyond the shadows of time<\/em><\/p>\nMother Night:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Come to me and rest your head<\/em><\/p>\nSun Child:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0I surrender my sorrows<\/em><\/p>\nMother Night:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0I will give to you new life<\/em><\/p>\nSun Child:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0I am reborn into the light<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Brief Homily on Darkness (by me)<\/strong><\/p>\nThe winter solstice happens in nature around us.\u00a0 But it also happens inside of us, in our souls.\u00a0 It can happen inside of us is summer or winter, spring or fall.\u00a0\u00a0 In the dark place of our soul, we carry secret wishes, pains, frustrations, loneliness, fears, regrets, worries.\u00a0 Darkness is not something to be afraid of.\u00a0 Sometimes we go to the dark place of our soul, where we can find safety and comfort.\u00a0 In the the dark place in our soul we can find rest and rejuvenation.\u00a0 In the dark place of our soul we can find balance.\u00a0 And when we have rested, and been comforted, and restored, we can return from the dark place in our soul to the world of light and new possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\nResponsive Reading: \u201cReflections on the Resurgence of Joy\u201d litany by Dori Jeanine Somers (UU Reading 653) [by me]<\/strong><\/p>\nHow short the daylight hours have now become.\u00a0 How grey the skies, how barren seem the trees.<\/em><\/p>\nA damp and chilling wind has gripped my mind and made me gloomy, too.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nBut there is that in me which reaches up toward the light and laughter, bells, and carolers,<\/em><\/p>\nAnd knows that my religious myth and dream of reborn joy and goodness must be true,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nBecause it speaks the truths of older myths;<\/em><\/p>\nThat light returns to balance darkness, life surges in the evergreen \u2013 and us,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nAs babes are hope, and saviors of the world, as miracles abound in common things.<\/em><\/p>\nRejoice!\u00a0 And join in the gladness of the season.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nActivity<\/strong><\/p>\nWe write new year wishes on paper lanterns.\u00a0 We then go outside and gather around the unlit campfire in dark.<\/p>\n
We have a brief silent meditation on darkness:<\/p>\n
Now we will have a brief silent meditation.\u00a0 Think about the darkness.\u00a0 Think about the silence.\u00a0 Think about how everything begins in the darkness.\u00a0 Think about how in the darkness there is always a spark of light.<\/em><\/p>\nWe then light candles.<\/p>\n
Song: \u201cPagan Silent Night\u201d (UU Hymn 251) adapted by Ellen Reed<\/strong><\/p>\nSi \u2013 lent night, Sol \u2013 stice Night<\/em>
\n All is calm, gone is light<\/em>
\n Na- ture slum \u2013 bers in for \u2013 est and glen<\/em>
\n Till in Spring \u2013 time She wakens a \u2013 gain<\/em>
\n Sleep \u2013 ing spir \u2013 its grow strong!<\/em>
\n Sleep \u2013 ing spir \u2013 its grow strong!<\/em><\/p>\nSi \u2013 lent night, Sol \u2013 stice Night<\/em>
\n Sil \u2013 ver moon shin \u2013 ing bright<\/em>
\n Snow \u2013 fall blank \u2013 ets the slum \u2013 ber \u2013 ing Earth<\/em>
\n Yule fires wel \u2013 come the Sun\u2019s re \u2013 birth<\/em>
\n Hark, the Light is re \u2013 born!<\/em>
\n Hark, the Light is re \u2013 born!<\/em><\/p>\nSi \u2013 lent night, Sol \u2013 stice Night<\/em>
\n Qui \u2013 et rest till the Light<\/em>
\n Turn \u2013 ing ev \u2013 er the roll \u2013 ing Wheel<\/em>
\n Brings the win \u2013 ter to com \u2013 fort and heal<\/em>
\n Rest your spir \u2013 it in peace!<\/em>
\n Rest your spir \u2013 it in peace!<\/em><\/p>\nActivity (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\nWe light and release the flying paper lanterns.\u00a0 We then light the bonfire.\u00a0 We then circle round the campfire.<\/p>\n
Song: \u201cPagan Joy to the World\u201d (UU Hymn 245) (adapted)<\/strong><\/p>\nJoy to the world! The Lord is come!<\/em>
\n Let Earth re- ceive her king!<\/em>
\n Let e \u2013 very heart pre \u2013 pare them room<\/em>
\n And Heaven and Na \u2013 ture sing,<\/em>
\n And Heaven and Na \u2013 ture sing,<\/em>
\n And Heaven, and Heaven, and Na \u2013 ture sing.<\/em><\/p>\nWel \u2013 come our King who brings us life.<\/em>
\n Our La- dy gives him birth!<\/em>
\n His liv \u2013 ing light warms the seeds,<\/em>
\n And wakes the sleep \u2013 ing earth,<\/em>
\n And wakes the sleep \u2013 ing earth,<\/em>
\n And wakes, and wakes the sleep \u2013 ing earth.<\/em><\/p>\nWe light the fire to greet the Son,<\/em>
\n Our Light! Our Life! Our King!<\/em>
\n Let e \u2013 very voice sing his praise,<\/em>
\n As Heaven and Na \u2013 ture sing,<\/em>
\n As Heaven and Na \u2013 ture sing,<\/em>
\n As Heaven, as Heaven and Na \u2013 ture sing.<\/em><\/p>\nLitany: \u201cThe Light is Reborn\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nWe each take turns reading a line of the \u201ccall\u201d.\u00a0 Everyone responds to the call with the line is \u201cThe light is reborn.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the earth is barren.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When the animals sleep.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When the leaves have all fallen.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When the rivers are frozen.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When the ground is hard.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When the shadows grow long.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n When warmth has fled.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em>
\n In the darkest night.<\/em>
\n The light is reborn.<\/em><\/p>\nWe the go inside for hot chocolate.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For those of you following this blog, you may have noticed that my family never manages to celebrate the Wheel of the Year on the actual solar date (in the case of the solstices and equinoxes) or the traditional dates (in the case of the cross-quarter day).\u00a0 The reason for this is largely practical.\u00a0 First […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1538,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,1],"tags":[26,97,324],"class_list":["post-885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ritual-scripts","category-uncategorized","tag-ritual","tag-tradition","tag-winter-solstice"],"yoast_head":"\n
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